About Simon Schama
Sir Simon Michael Schama ( SHAH-mə; born 13 February 1945) is an English historian and television presenter. He specialises in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. As of January 2026 he is a professor of history and art history at Columbia University. Schama first came to public attention with his history of the French Revolution titled Citizens, published in 1989. He is also known for writing and hosting the 15-part BBC television documentary series A History of Britain (2000–2002), as well as other documentary series such as The American Future: A History (2008) and The Story of the Jews (2013). Schama was knighted in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours List. == Early life and education == Simon Michael Schama was born on 13 February 1945 in Marylebone, London. His mother, Gertie (née Steinberg), was from an Ashkenazi Lithuanian Jewish family (from Kaunas, present-day Lithuania), and his father, Arthur Schama, was of Sephardi Jewish background (from Smyrna, present-day İzmir in Turkey), later moving through Moldova and Romania. In the mid-1940s, the family moved to Southend-on-Sea in Essex, before moving back to London. In 1956, Schama won a scholarship to the private Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School in Cricklewood (from 1961 Elstree, Hertfordshire).
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